There are seven main Islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, from oldest to newest: Niihau Kauai Oahu Molokai Lanai Maui Hawaii (The Big Island)

And you are on the big Island now? How far apart are all the little islands? How long does it take to get there by boat?

Our inter-island commerce is almost all done by air. It takes 1/2 hour to fly from Hilo to Honolulu, and another 45 minutes to get to Kauai. Inter-island barge traffic moves heavy things and Container ships move household goods, cars and non-perishable produce. That takes the better part of a week to get to Honolulu. There are inter-island cruises, but they do not travel in straight lines from port to port...they linger in the sunsets and off-shore in the evenings. From the west coast (California) it takes about 5 days by boat. Five hours by plane. I think the widest channel between the islands is about 60 miles (between Kauai and Oahu) (96 Km - does that sound right?!) Hilo is where I live on the east side of the Big Island

Me, too.

Indeed, John...as I realized as the Yapp swallowed my post without mention of your also being resident in Hilo...and then O'O needed to check something...and I forgot. So sorry, Dear!

There is also one semi-major uninhabited island called Kaho`olawe (Ka-ho'-o-lah'-vay). It has been the subject of some major controversy between the federal government and Native Hawaiians. For years, the Navy used it as target practice. Hawaiians objected, claiming the island was a sacred place in their native polytheistic religion. The feds cleaned it (as well as they said they could) of unexploded ordnance and turned it over to the State of Hawaii several years ago and since then, Hawaiians have ta en private pilgrimages there. The feds say they will not be responsible for any unexploded shells still on the island (which is almost totally devoid of fresh water, thus nearly uninhabitable), but so far, no one has been injured. In 1976, two Hawaiian activists, George Helm (who was also a prominent Hawaiian entertainer) and Kimo Mitchell, disappeared while paddling their surfboards between Maui and Kahoolawe. There are Hawaiians who suspect the feds of foul play, as it was a calm day. Helm and Mitch ll have become the stuff of legends, as well as Eddie Aikau, a big-wave surfer who disappeared in a roiling storm at sea in 1978 while trying to paddle a surfboard to get help for a capsized Hawaiian voyaging canoe, the Hokule`a (Star of Gladness). To this day, there are bumper stickers proudly displayed statewide that proclaim "Eddie Would Go." These guys have reached D.B. Cooper-like status in local legend.

Kaho`olawe is 7 miles off Maui's south coast.

Yup...thanks for the informative post. If they scroll back to the top they can see where Kaho'olave is...*hugs*

So much for spelling...Kaho'olawe, of course. Loihi is the next island in the chain, but it is still beneath the sea growing. It will be a long while before it surfaces off the southeast coast of The Big Island.

Local volcanologists say only about 40,000 years, give or take a few =)

There are two excellent microbrew pubs in Honolulu. One is the Gordon Biersch Brewery at the Aloha Tower Marketplace on the waterfront downtown. Excellent pilsner, a yuppie haunt. The other is in Sam Choy's Breakfast, Lunch & Crab on Nimitz Avenue about a mile towards Pearl Harbor from downtown in the Iwilei industrial area. Sam Choy is Hawaii's most famous chef (former executive chef in the Kona Hilton, then went out on his own to fabulous success). It is a charming restaurant and microbrewery in a efurbished former factory building. Upscale, yet informal. They brew lager, cream ale, bambucha stout, hefeweizen, and my favorite "Sam's Steam." It is much like San Francisco's legendary Anchor Steam, but even better. Sam also has an elegant Diamond Head restaurant, a family restaurant on Maui, both a family restaurant and a resort restaurant in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island (the former in the Kaloko Industrial Area, the latter at the Keauhou Beach Hotel), and fine dining establishments in Tokyo, New York City and on Guam. His website is http://www.samchoy.com There is also the Kona Brewpub in Kailua-Kona. Their signature beers are Fire Rock Ale and Kona Lager. Good info for travelers.

And does it get horrible when all the tourists come?

As for me, I hardly notice them. I want them to come. Our local economy needs tourists to survive. I'll do whatever is necessary to be helpful and friendly when I meet them.

My cousin Barney has a house in Hawaii on La Pietra Circle in Honolulu, do you know where that is Marcia or John?

La Pietra was a very pricy and exclusive estate on the Honolulu side of Oahu. If your cousin's house is anywhere in the neighborhood, he is in very good company!

Sounds like his house. He just retired from the luxury curise liner business and has hourses in a bunch of places around the world. He's now a mjaor art collector.

That sounds like the appropriate neighborhood if not the actual house! Sounds like you chose the right family to be born into *grin* Do you get to visit often? ...or if it is like my family, ever? It is like Camelot in that area of Oahu...just pineapple mists keeping things green...never too hot nor too chilly, not too cloudy nor too sunny, and all sunsets have green flashes!

I've been to his place in St. Louis, which is awsome, golden Rolls and Mercedes in the driveway and the walls full of Georgia O'Keefe and Edward Hopper. It's a huge sprawling modern, mansion. I can just imagine what his place in Hawaii must be like!

Wow. LaPietra Circle is in the neighborhood where the upscale part of Waikiki melts into Diamond Head and Kahala. Some of the world's priciest real estate there and also on nearby Black Point Road. The mansion they used for externals on Magnum P.I. is close to your cousin's home. That's way out of MY neighborhood, both geographically and pricewise!

Yep, Barney's definitely the family success story. He golfs with Bill Gates at his Seattle home, he built one of St. Louis most successful companies, and he's likely to be found anywhere in the world. One of his companies, Clipper Cruise Lines, has some of the most interesting cruise ships. They weight just under 200 tons to meet the restrictions on going in to coves and harbors and they're always booked solid for the exotic places they travel. He also does this thing with the Concorde where you can go on a 15 day around the world trip and live in luxury on the plane. But, unfortunately, all this wealth has somewhat isolated him from the family, I haven't heard much from him since he got to the mega level and, of course, he's cirulating in a different social group now.

Hanging with Billy G. That is a different social group. I wonder if there are girls who refused to date your cousin in high school or college who are kicking their own asses now...

Success is the sweetest revenge...

So I've heard.

It is also one of the most powerful aphrodesiacs on Earth!

I've heard that as well. Otherwise, why would any woman sleep with Henry Kissinger...

My point exactly!!! *lol*

...and we are back to the nebbish discussion again...

Nah... too tall, too fat, too ugly, too secure for nebbishhood

Waaaaaaay too secure for nebbishhood - good point! The rest is just part of the man I would have to be drugged to get into bed with...!

Henry Kissinger is UUUUUUU-GLEEEEEE, and not all the success or money in the world will make him anything but just so!

He's dead though, isn't he?

Is he? If so, I completely missed that one. George C. Scott died yesterday (day before yesterday your time) see News/Obits.

Barney married a very lovely woman, his second marriage. He has a daughter with his first wife, Martine, a French woman. I could go hang out with him in the days when he was with Martine. And he would come visit me, marveling at my hippie lifestyle. It was strange that none of his cousins were invited to his wedding in St. Louis, which was a gargantuan affair with people being taken from party to party with limos and people from Bush's cabinet flying in for the affair. Bush sent apologies, I heard. You can guess which party he makes major contributions to!

Wow!

If he plays golf with Billy G., it's obvious which party he--and Billy G.-- contributes to. If Gates were a major contributor to the Democratic National Committee, he wouldn't have Janet Reno trying so hard to nail him on some specious antitrust violation. If your cousin Barney were a major contributor to the Dems, his second address would likely be the Lincoln Bedroom instead of LaPietra Circle.

I already told the story somewhere about how he has this painting - Edward Hoppers "The Diner" - that Gates wants but he won't sell. I've got to give him credit for having something Bill Gates wants but can't have. That's rare.

It must frustrate the bejeepers out of BG, and that is a good thing. NO one should be able to have Everything he wants...Some things must be unattainable for his own good! ...and what lovely satisfaction in knowing you have something someone wants but cannot have for any amount of money!

A vew visuals from this island and Kilauea Volcano, in particular: From Pu'u O'o fountains on the flanks of Kilauea Down to entry into the sea making new real estate for the future - lava originating at Pu'u O'o: This is how we get more black sand for beaches, and peridots, too.

I got to fly over Pu'u O'o in a chopper in 1983 when it was fountaining 600 feet high. I wish I had been a better photographer, but I'll nver forget seeing it from the aerial view. Those are lovely shots, and thanks for the one with the URL.

To see Kekaimalu, the only known wholphin in existence (at Oahu's Sea Life Park) http://www.womenonwallstreet.com/pp/Y/Yorimoto/slp.htm

For his graduation from Manoa (U of Hawaii's Honolulu campus), David gave me a trip in a chopper down Chain-of-Craters Road from the Golf Course to the sea with lots of stops between. It was incredible and I loved it. Took loads of pictures, and saw the lava fire-hosing out of the sea cliffs into the water. Amazing stuff!

When I graduated from UHH, Alton gave me a beautiful framed photo he took himself of lava at night from Chain-of-Craters Road.

Oooh...Very nice! I have given him loads of stuff...he has only fed me, but that is a high compliment considering he worked his way through college by catering (began his own business!) Of course, you were the best and brightest we had graduated in a very long time from UHH...what was your GPA, Valedictorian?

The plane crash in Hawaii Sat. eve. Sep. 25 was here on the Big Island. Was a two-engine tourist plane, a Piper Navajo Chieftain, with 10 aboard, including the pilot. It took off from Kona airport on the west side of the island at 4:22 p.m. Was reported missing shortly after 6 p.m. A Coast Guard helicopter discovered the still smoldering wreckage on the northeastern slopes of Mauna Loa (on the Hilo side) shortly after 6 a.m. Sunday. The plane, which was 16 years old and considered relatively young an airworthy, had slammed into the side of the mountain. Weather conditions were unknown. The last transmission from the pilot, who had worked for Big Island Air, the tour plane company, for over five years, was a request to enter restricted airspace, nothing unusual for a tour plane. It is the first mishap ever for Big Island Air. As of this posting, no names of victims have been released, but all ten aboard are confirmed dead. The wreckage was charred and most, if not all, will have to be ID'd throug dental records.

On a much less serious note (in response to your previous post which I had missed, Marcia), my GPA was 4.0 (B.A. English, highest honors) and still is in my master's program (MEd, expected Spring 2000 from UH-Manoa, Honolulu) as well. Means little when 10 people have died prematurely.

Of course, you do not need to answer that rude question - I know it was outstanding. And, you realize I am very jealous that you have something personally from Alton that did not become part of your body...hmmm....! On a more serious note...From CNN (John or I will post the follow-up after our late news this evening) Plane slams into side of Hawaiian volcano, killing 10 September 26, 1999 Web posted at: 8:43 p.m. EDT (0043 GMT) From staff and wire reports KAILUA KONA, Hawaii (CNN) -- Ten people on board a twin-engine sightseeing airplane died when it crashed on the side of Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano. Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Diana Joubert said search crews located the wreckage at 6:30 a.m. Sunday at an elevation of about 10,500 feet. The volcano reaches 13,679 feet. Rescue crews later reached the remote site on the "big island" of Hawaii, where they found no survivors. The PA-31/350 Piper Chieftain, with a pilot and nine passengers, was operated by Big Island Airlines, which offers regularly scheduled sightseeing tours. "The plane was totally demolished, just like a plane would be if it went into rocks at a high rate of speed," said Doug Lentz, spokesman for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, where Mauna Loa is located. "It's pretty rough terrain on the side of the volcano, with plenty of lava fields," said Roy Mann, the airline's operations director. Identities of the victims were not immediately released. The recovered bodies were being flown by helicopter to the city of Hilo on the east side of the island. The plane had taken off about 4:30 p.m. Saturday for a tour of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, two dormant volcanoes. About three hours later, Big Island officials notified Kona International Airport that the plane was an hour overdue. Searchers began looking for the plane but suspended their search when darkness fell. They resumed the search Sunday morning and found the plane about an hour later, Joubert said. Since a large part of the island is inaccessible by car, air tours are a popular way to see it, including the active Kilauea volcano. Helicopters and planes fly near the bubbling summit and then over nearby valleys to view rainbows and waterfalls.

This is the worst plane disaster we have ever had here, if I recall correctly.

Thank you for posting, and I am sorry to have interjected something incredibly important to me, but not in the great scheme of things.

Wow, those photos are absolutely stunning, Marcia! HAve you ever witnessed an erupting volcano? It must be the most beautiful sight on earth - as long as it happens where people can't get hurt. I once saw an amazing programme where volcano experts climbed into the mouth of an active volcano to measure the activities; afterwards it said in the credits that the guy who led the party was killed by a small eruption 2 weeks after the film was made.

Fourth worst in Hawaii history. On Oct. 28, 1989, 20 died in a plane crash (Aloha Island Air) on Moloka'i, including most of the Moloka'i High School girls' volleyball team. Melveena Starkey and her brother, Travis, were supposed to be on that plane, but decided to stay behind on Maui to shop.

WHY AMERICANS SHOULD NEVER BE ALLOWED TO TRAVEL The following are actual stories provided by travel agents: I had someone ask for an aisle seat so that their hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window. A client called in inquiring about a package to Hawaii. After going over all the cost info, she asked, "Would it be cheaper to fly to California and then take the train to Hawaii?" A man called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that is not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, "Don't lie to me. I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state." I got a call from a man who asked, "Is it possible to see England from Canada?" I said, "No." He said "But they look so close on the map." A nice lady just called. She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:20am and got into Chicago at 8:33am. I tried to explain that Michigan was an hour ahead of Illinois, but she could not understand the concept of time zones. Finally I told her the plane went very fast, and she bought that! I just got off the phone with a man who asked, "How do I know which plane to get on?" I asked him what exactly he meant, which he replied, "I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these darn planes have numbers on them." A business man called and had a question about the documents he needed in order to fly to China. After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded him he needed a visa. "Oh no I don't, I've been to China many times and never had to have one of those." I double checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When I told him this he said, "Look, I've been to China four times and every time they have accepted my American Express."

Kona Airport Beach Park, a popular surfing spot on the Big Island's west side, was closed Saturday following a Friday afternoon shark attack on a 16-year-old boy. The victim, who is listed in critical but stable condition at the Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu, was surfing with a friend, when a six to eight foot long tiger shark partially severed his left arm. It was the second shark attack on the Big Island this year. A fisherman suffered relatively minor injuries from a shark bite in July in Hilo. The beach park is expected to be open to the public again Sunday.

Does anything NICE ever happen in HawaII??

Right now in Hilo it's a sunny blue gorgeous 76 degree day. I'd call that something nice.

Indeed it is, and I have the feeling I am going to spend it sitting right here. That is the saddest part of a lovely day! Definitely a 35 SPF day out there!

Our UH-Hilo Vulcan women's volleyball team stinketh like goatherds. They lost in straight games two nights in a row to HPU and BYU (like we didn't expect that, huh?) 0-3 in Pacific West Conference play. HPU beat them 15-0 in 15 minutes in game number one.

Don't they evereth! We may just as well throw in the proverbial towel before playing nationally-ranked Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu. They won our tournament - by miles and miles!

Here is your secondary tour guide. ME, not Marcia...(circa 1981)

Thank you for making that clarification...*lol*

hey ho, ho hey! THAT's what I call rugged!!! EEEEAAAAUUUW!

Women often react to me eith EEEEAAAAUUUUW (the story of my life).

It wasn't THAT kind of EEEAAAAAUUUUW. I happen to adore beards and hair and lots of ruggedness on males.

I stand corrected. I didn't know there was any other kind of EEEAAAAUUUUW.

Hey JOhn... are you and WER related?!?!?! *grin* very similar facial decoration...

...hmmm....(don't think so...)

Not related to the kitchen manager...the kitchen help, maybe!

...and friend of every chef in Hawaii worth the name *grin*

Speaking of chefs in Hawaii, Georges Bouillion, a world-class French chef living in Honolulu, has just opened a French cooking institute here. If you would like to study French cooking in Hawaii, details are available 1 (808) 528-5627. When the students become advanced enough, Bouillion intends to open a relatively low cost French bistro run by his students. Stay tuned!

Some Big Island Scenery Shoreline of Keaukaha just outside Hilo: Hilo black sand beach Bayfront during outrigger canoe regatta School Bus in Lava Flow Snow on Mauna Kea

Nothing like a school bus in a lava flow to warm the cockles of the Hawaii Visitors' Bureau's collective heart!

Yup! That's why I put it there! Wait'll you see where the tourists are standing in the pix I posted in Vulcanology...he he he

Why the State of Hawai`i's economic recovery plans depend on a nuclear holocaust in Australia: 1. We will become the world's main supplier of raw materials for eucalyptus cough drops. 2. Hawaiian surfers will again dominate the field, leading to skyrocketing North Shore real estate values. 3. The place is full of snakes. Every Qantas airliner is a potential ecological catastrophe. 4. Without Aussie peacekeepers to interfere, Indonesia will stay happier and keep that oil flowing. 5. Now that Ross Furniture has been bought out, we don't ever want a repeat of those damn commercials. 6. Aussies have too much fun at home. It's giving other tourists the wrong idea. 7. They aren't accepting convicts anymore, and the the prison-for-profit people want to keep it that way. 8. Aussie men will stop fueling the Bangkok sex market, subsidizing cheap competition for Waikiki. 9. Once Australia is gone, the only place where tourists can see wild wallabies will be Oahu. 10. Baywatch will never be tempted again.

John where did you get that?! Far too funny not to be true! Prepare for some wounded pride.

I got it from the old poetry professor. He did not indicate whether it was original, but he does do this kind of stuff. Whose wounded pride must I prepare for. Are there any Aussies here outside of Drool?

Anne Hale lives in Australia but thinks of herself as an Englishwoman, I believe. We just might find out if there are any lurking travellers from OZ.

I have in my hot little hands a Premier issue of The Hawaii Island Journal some of whose contents are attributed to Alan D. McNarie and a certain John Burnett. Where does he find the time? It is a lovely piece of journalism all the way through and I wish it much success. McNarie's pieces are wonderful - he has 2 that I have found so far, and John does a music scene column which I have not yet read. Congratulations all round!

Thank you. Speaking of the Hawaii music scene, Henry Kapono will headline a nine-hour concert that will be cybercast worldwide via pixelnet November 6th. Fourteen other Hawaii acts will also take part in the concert, which will be webcast from the under-construction Pier Bar Amphitheater at Aloha Tower in Honolulu. I don't have any more details at this time, but will post them as they become available. Over a million people worldwide are expected to tune in, and 10,000 people are expected on site, whi h will be serving Gordon Biersch microbrew, which is right next door. Perhaps the freshest beer at a concert event, ever, and the music will be fantastic. Henry Kapono is a world class music act, and has recorded with acts as diverse as Big Mountain, Michael McDonald, and Third World.

When you know a URL for this broadcast, please post it here and in the other places where Terry is sure to find it - like internet broadcasting. That should be one fantastic concert! Love that music!!! (btw, how did they shrink your photo to a thumbnail - Oooh, I know!!! I can do it, too!!!)

I don't know how they did it. They have a professional graphics person (Dick Price). Does your copy of it look as grainy as what you posted?

No it does not. Not nearly as grainy - let me try my thumbnail program and I'll send you my result...it will take a little bit to do it...like about 15 minutes or so...!

O.K. fine. Sounds good to me.

check your mail, John!

The Ironman World Triathlon Championship is tomorrow in Kailua-Kona (the other side of the Big Island). There are perhaps 50,000 spectators and other tourists and over 1,000 competitors jamming that quiet little town. And on a more serious note, Hawaii longshoremen are threatening a strike. Poor babies are only averaging about 65-grand a year, and it isn't enough for their greedy, strong, but uneducated (m)asses. The sentiment of the local populus is not with them. They are looking to make the same money the longshoremen in Oakland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles make, but in all fairness, West Shore longshoremen have larger workloads. The local stevedores have already slowed down work at the Hilo docks. People he e, who remember the 100 day shipping strike of 1971, have made a run in the stores on 20 and 50 pound bags of rice, toilet paper, and cases of SPAM, canned corned beef, and Vienna sausages.

Indeed they/we are. Do not throw away your old newspapers...you might need to use them again! I thought we were declared a special status and that they ILO was not allowed to do this to us again. I recall the last strike. Shall we break out the Y2K provisions and do a test run?! ...they are also stocking up on (hate to mention it) "sanitary products" and Onions. One cannot cook in Hawaii without Onions!!!

An eToys commercial (national) came on TV tonight and I was riveted. Not by the pictures or by the professional female voice over, but by the music in the background. It was a single ukulele with a male voice humming--or more accurately, oohing. The oohing voice belonged to the late Israel Kamakawiwoole, who died of natural causes at age 38 a couple of years ago (he had a thyroid condition and weighed over 700 pounds). "Braddah Iz" as he is known throughout Hawaii, was the greatest Hawaiian singer of his generation. The tune he was strumming was "Over the Rainbow," yes the Wizard of Oz classic. Iz's version of the song gained national prominence when the producers of the movie Meet Joe Black chose it to roll over the closing cred ts of the film, about a year after Iz's untimely demise. If you come to Hawaii and say "Israel" or "Iz," everybody will know who you mean by that single word, just as you can say "Elvis," "Marilyn," or "Ringo" and get instant recognition. He was a national treasure here in Hawaii, and was well-known in Japan as well, and I think everybody should be exposed to his beautiful voice, music, and spirit. Iz called me at the radio station from his hospital room in Honolulu a week before he died. I put him on the air. He knew he was dying, but he was cheerful and funny. He referred to his private room in the Queen's Medical Center as "the presidential suite at the Queen Emma Hilton," and requested that I play his version of the country hit "In This Life" for his friends and fans on the Big Island. The song is a "swan song," and it was then that I realized that he was not going to make it out of the hosp tal. His tone of conversation was cheerful; he let the song express the heaviness on his heart. Iz was the epitome of strength, grace, class, and inner beauty. He was my friend for nearly 20 years and I miss him terribly. His widow, Marlene, is a much better businessperson than he was, and he should have let her handle his business affairs when he was alive. She negotiated the deals on behalf of his estate with the movie and commercial producers, and hopefully, with her business smarts, she will get his music national recognition, and earn a healthy living for herself and their daughter, Ku`ulei.

7 ways to save on Hawaii vacations Discover how to be frugal with air fares, accommodations, recreation, more The Manele Bay Hotel on Lanai will offer deals during the first two weeks of December. By Rudy Maxa MSNBC Oct. 21 � If you think Hawaii is like a rare tropical flower priced so that only the rich and famous can afford it, think again. Hawaii has actually fallen on economic hard times recently and is offering many incentives to lure travelers. Discover how to save money on air fares, vacation packages, accommodations and recreation. THE DECLINE in Japanese tourism has hurt Hawaii the last several years, and there are bargains to be found. But remember that food is often more expensive than on the mainland, and hotel taxes can add as much as 21 percent to the cost of a hotel room. When you price rooms, ask if tax is included. First, consider getting there. Hawaii is one of the country�s favorite destinations for frequent fliers cashing in miles. Think of American, United and Continental�s Hawaiian flights as routes the airlines use to burn off frequent-flier miles. There are scheduled charter flights, however, that offer low prices. A California tour operator called Pleasant Holidays (800-242-9244), for example, offers almost daily service connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco with Honolulu and Maui. If you happen to really like visiting Hawaii, you might want to consider purchasing the company�s unlimited flight deal called AirPass. You can fly as many times as you want between the West Coast and Hawaii � except during nine holiday season black-out dates � for o ly $1,399 during 2000. Pleasant Holidays says its average AirPass holder makes seven or eight round trips a year, which works out to $200 or less per round-trip. That�s about half the cost of a normal ticket. SAVING ON ACCOMMODATIONS When it comes to accommodations, be aware that Hawaii does have its slow times when you�ll be able to negotiate better hotel and condo rates. Here are the best times to go to save money: the first two weeks of December April, if it�s been a mild winter on the mainland May summers on all islands other than Maui and Oahu September Over the past year, some hotels have offered great incentives such as a fifth night free or a free rental car. For example, Pleasant Holidays offered me a package at the Sheraton on Oahu with a fifth night free plus a daily food credit of $25. I asked for their cheapest package to Honolulu in November, including air and hotel. They quoted $629 per person (based on two people traveling), which includes air fare from Washington, D.C., and five nights in the Ambassador Hotel with a city (not ocean) view. That�s about what I�d pay in air fare alone if I made my own travel plans. WANT A DEAL? ASK FOR IT The "Celebrate Aloha" package at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel can save you money on luxury accommodations. Be sure to push to find the deals. For example, I decided to go more upscale and called the swanky Mauna Lani Bay on the Big Island of Hawaii. First I asked for the AAA rate and was quoted a price of $515 for a deluxe double room with an ocean view the first week of December. (Keep in mind, taxes would add another $100 to that total!) Then I asked if there were any packages available that might save me oney. Bingo! The �Celebrate Aloha� package gave me the same room for $350 a night plus $400 in hotel credit that I could use toward dining, golf fees and hotel shops. The only catch was a minimum stay of three nights. That�s a savings of $165 a night not including that $400 credit. (Which cannot be applied to your nightly room rate, by the way.) LANAI ON A BUDGET The island of Lanai is one of my favorites because it�s so beautiful, and as I mentioned above, sparsely populated. This is where Dole grew many of its pineapples, and there are two resorts, the Lodge at Koehle and the Manele Bay Hotel. Both plan to offer deals during the slow, first two weeks of December, though specific prices weren�t available as I wrote this story. Both are owned by the same company, and you can check prices by calling (800) 321-4666. The Lodge is inland, surrounded by fir trees that ive you the feeling you�re in Montana. Just nine miles away, on the coast, is the Manele Bay, whose setting, architecture and landscape suggest you�re on the coast of Portugal or southern France. While room rates may exceed $300 a night, these are resorts that, if they were located in the Caribbean, would easily fetch more than $700 a night. Want to stay at the budget hotel on the island? The 10-room Hotel Lanai is simple and has rates that begin at $95 a night. For information, call (800) 795-7211. You can always splurge by dining at the two opulent resort properties. CONSIDER A CONDOMINIUM If you�re traveling to Hawaii with children, consider renting a condominium. You�ll save on food costs and may enjoy the increased space and privacy. Every island has hundreds of options at varying prices that are usually less than the cost of a hotel room, especially if more than two people are traveling. Visit the Hawaii Visitor�s Bureau�s Web site, click on �accommodations� and then choose the appropriate category, such as condominiums or homes and cottages. Select the island you�re interested in, and ou�ll be presented with a list of places to stay along with brief descriptions. Some offer a 10 percent discount if you book online. HAWAII FOR NOTHING Hawaii for free by Frances Carter �Hawaii For Free� by Frances Carter offers hundreds of free things to do in Hawaii. For example, the book recommends Hanauma Bay on Oahu, a picture-perfect snorkeling and scuba diving spot where fish eat out of your hand. But remember, Hanauma Bay Nature Park, which has been designated a state underwater park and conservation district, is free to locals only. Visitors pay a $3 entrance fee and a $1-per-car parking fee. Looking for musical entertainment? Instead of shelling out big bucks for a luau, resear h where to find free hula shows, or listen to the many steel guitar performances at the major hotels most evenings. Discover where to whale-watch for free on Maui and enjoy free cultural events. On the Big Island, dive into the free chocolate and macadamia nut samples on various tours. Learn about free scenic attractions on Kauai. The book also recommends freebies on Molokai and Lanai.

VOLCANO VILLAGE, Hawaii, Oct. 21 � How do you explore Kilauea volcano? Let us count the ways. Swoop over the erupting Pu�u O�o vent in a helicopter or hike on hardened lava in the pitch-black darkness and scan the horizon for glowing lava. Or if you�re really chicken, hit the nearby Internet cafe for risk-free enlightenment. IF YOU WANT to explore Kilauea, one of the world�s most active volcanoes, you have a delightful array of creative options from which to choose. It all depends on how much you like danger. When Blue Hawaiian Helicopters swoops its passengers down over the 800-foot high Pu�u O�o vent, the actual site where molten magma bursts from deep inside the earth, spine-tingling strains of �Phantom of the Opera� blast through the headphones and set hair on edge. Pilot Ray Guy banks the chopper left, then right, then left again to ensure his white-knuckle fliers have a chance to glimpse through boiling clouds of hydrochloric acid to see orange blobs of lava below. While you�re contemplating what hydrochloric acid might do to a helicopter, Pilot Ray tosses out statistics that are anything but subtle. The Big Island actually has three active volcanoes, and they are a bunch of real shakers. �We had 67,000 earthquakes on the Big Island in 1997,� he says. Maneuvering the helicopter back toward its home base in Hilo, he passes over the �former subdivision� of Royal Gardens. Its 192 homes and businesses are now under 40 feet of lava, he says, and for the few stragglers who refuse to leave their homesteads, �There�s no electricity, no water, no telephone, and it�s a 60-mile drive to the nearest grocery.� Staring down at devastated subdivision, some folks might find the scariness factor pretty high. But in all fairness, Blue Hawaiian Helicopters has a flawless safety record over its 14-year history. It is the first helicopter tour company in the United States to be certified under the National �Tour Operator Program of Safety,� whose standards exceed the FAA�s. So tell that to your goosebumps. MADAM PELE THROWS A PARTY If the helicopter adventure doesn�t stand your flesh on edge, climb into your rental car and head to Volcanoes National Park for the �nighttime volcano party.� Detour briefly to Volcano House, a hotel/restaurant complex within the park to store up on flashlights, bottled water and picnic items, then drive 25 miles to the end of Chain of Craters Road along the Pacific Ocean. It won�t be hard to establish where the end of the road is: Look for the giant blobs of hardened lava that stopped it dead in its tra ks. Park your car facing uphill (so the national park service can evacuate you in case of an emergency), then let the party begin. Visitors to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park keep their eyes on a distant steam cloud where hot lava flows into the Pacific Ocean. As the sun goes down, swarms of people - including families with children and senior citizens from huge tour buses � gingerly inch their way along 300 yards of sharp, uneven hardened black lava, all in search of that elusive view of volcanic activity. As the sun disappears completely, we are in the enviable position of sitting on a black, fissured hill of lava sticking up from 37 square miles of black lava, while all around us, it�s � totally black. But there are pinpricks of light on the horizon. And flashes of orange at the ocean�s edge. And these are significant. Why? Let�s have a lava lesson. When lava bursts from the Pu�u O�o vent, it�s like syrup, a park ranger explained. Like any liquid, it�s going to follow the path of least resistance. If there�s a slope, it will begin to go downhill and soon it will form a river. When the 2,000-degree lava begins to cool around its edges, it creates it own tunnel which insulates the lava on the inside. The lava leaving Pu�u O�o flows 7 miles in its own tunnel until it hits the ocean. When lava hits the sea, molten lava blocks the size of microwave ovens can be tossed as far as half a mile inland. Anywhere that the lava tube collapses in on itself, you get holes in the tube. Hawaiians call these holes �skylights.� So if you sit on your black hill in the black expanse of darkness, you can see red dots that are glimpses of the river of lava through the tube. And when hot lava meets the ocean, wham! You get a hydrochloric acid plume that glows orange like distant Fourth of July fireworks. If your flesh still isn�t on edge, turn on your flashlight and read the national park leaflet posted at the hut near the entrance to the lava trail. It mentions that volcanic fumes, which contain hydrochloric acid, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter, can be hazardous to your health. It mentions that when lava hits the sea, molten lava blocks the size of microwave ovens can be tossed as far as half a mile inland. It mentions that the slightest fall on the sharp-edged lava will probably cause deep cuts r quiring first aid. It mentions that lava benches, formed where lava enters the ocean, are unstable and can collapse. But in the dark, no one can see you cower in fear. KILAUEA WITH CAPPUCINO Saddle up to the Lava Rock Internet Caf� on Old Volcano Road, only a three-minute drive from where the volcanic action is. As with all great natural spectacles, there is always a safe, risk-free way option for exploring the mother of all magma chambers. On the Big Island, there is even a virtual way to visit the volcano. Saddle up to the Lava Rock Caf� (808-967-8526) on Old Volcano Road, only a three-minute drive from where the volcanic action is. While Kilauea spatters and sputters only miles away, Internet junkies can plop down at one of two computers and surf the Volcano Watch home page. (�Eruptive activity of Kilauea Volcano continued unabated during the past week.�) Hot link to the latest current earthquakes for the Big Island, and learn about today�s seismicity. Do a Yahoo search on �Hawaii Volcanoes National Park� nd learn the park gets 2.5 million visitors a year, and is open 24 hours a day all year long. Surf over to the Volcano Village home page where you can learn that the town is at elevation 4,000 feet and averages 100 to 125 inches annually. Learn that the town is populated with Japanese farmers, retirees, artists and others. Then it�s on to �Explore Kilauea� CD-Rom, which states that the crater of Kilauea Iki once spewed a fountain of lava 1,900 feet high (a record for historic eruptions in Hawaii). While you�re surfing, a nearby cafe patron remarks to his friend, �I sure screwed up my ankle walking on that lava.� Another restaurant patron, a woman who just returned from the end of Chain of Craters Road, proclaims, �I had an attack down there from the fumes.� Hazards. Who needs them. Now where is my espresso, and where�s that Web site on Hawaiian tidal waves? WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU GO Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The Kilauea Visitor Center is a must stop before exploring the park. A park ranger gives regular briefings on volcanic activity at the end of Chain of Craters Road, and a description of attractions along the Crater Rim Drive. You can also watch an eruption film and store up on books and maps. For visitor information call (808) 985-6000. Volcano House Hotel is probably not a good choice for anyone who�s extremely sensitive to volcanic fumes. Accommodations. Imagine staying at your own house in Hawaii.The Lodge at Volcano is actually a house in the Hawaiian countryside that has been turned into a bed and breakfast. It�s spacious, quiet, and located five miles from Volcanoes National Park. Six bedrooms are available, ranging from $85 to $125 a night double occupancy. Call (800) 937-7786. Volcano House Hotel is dramatically perched at 4,000 feet elevation on the rim of Kilauea Crater. Probably not a good choice for anyone who�s extremely sensiti e to volcanic fumes (even the waiters in the nearby restaurant were coughing). But if you�re a hardy sort, rooms here are $160-185 for crater view, $85 to $135 for non-crater view. And rooms do fill quickly. A desk clerk recommended making reservations at least four weeks ahead. Call (808) 967-7321. If you�re staying in Hilo, 30 miles north, a good choice is the Hilo Hawaiian hotel. It has 285 rooms, a restaurant, lounge and swimming pool. On a sunny day, oceanfront rooms have a view of Coconut Island, Hi o Bay, and Mauna Kea mountain. Rooms are $107 a night. Call (808) 935-9361. Restaurants. Surt�s at Volcano Village is the one notable standout in a sea of mediocre restaurants in the vicinity of Volcanoes National Park. This charming restaurant has 12 tables against a backdrop of pine walls and stunning local Hawaiian paintings. The Beef Panang served in a coconut sauce is to die for. Cheese Ravioli with Chicken is a rich dish sure to prepare you for that long hike. Nothing could be finer than mango tiramisu washed down with macadamia nut coffee. Open daily from noon to 9:30 p.m. Located off of Highway 11 between the 26 and 27 mile markers on the Old Volcano Highway. Call (808) 967-8511. If you�re planning to explore the park after dark, bring a flashlight or even two. (John's note: Kilauea Lodge Restaurant is also terrific.) Helicopter trips. Blue Hawaiian Helicopters offers the 50-minute �Circle of Fire� trip which flies over Kilauea Volcano�s erupting Pu�u O�o vent and several rainforest waterfalls. Cost is $140 per person. Check with your hotel to see if they can provide a discount. Call (800) 745-BLUE. Volcano hike preparation. If you�re planning to explore Volcanoes National Park by foot, prepare for it as if you were going on a wilderness hike. Be sure to have sturdy footwear (hiking boots or sport sandals), long pants and sunglasses (hat optional). Carry plenty of water; the national park has more medical emergencies from dehydration than anyone getting hurt by lava. If you�re planning to explore the park after dark, bring a flashlight or two. You�re going to have a hard time finding your way back to the car without one.

Reach for the stars on Mauna Kea Want to bag a summit? Drive to the top of a 13,796-foot peak By Robin Dalmas MSNBC Oct. 21 � If you drive to the summit of Mauna Kea at 13,796 feet, you can steal a glimpse of what rightfully belongs to mountaineers. A neon pink and orange sunset wraps around the Big Island like a giant flower lei. Silvery telescopes hum in preparation for stargazing. Stunning. Did we mention the shortage of oxygen? PERHAPS YOU�RE not a mountaineer, and the thought of bagging a summit with ice axes, crampons and little bags of freeze-dried stroganoff sounds as exciting as being boiled in hot lava. Still, there�s a part of you that longs to stand atop a lofty peak, the sound of the wind rippling through your long johns, your lips turning blue from the cold. If you fly to the Big Island of Hawaii, rent a four-wheel drive and motor to the top of 13,796-foot Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano that last erupted 4,000 years ago, you can steal a glimpse of what rightfully belongs to mountaineers. And you don�t even need to make a trip to Recreational Equipment Incorporated. You need only violate the clause in your rental car contract that says �thou shalt not drive on dirt roads.� What�s more, you can boast to all your mountaineering buddies that you�ve stood atop the highest peak in the world. While it�s only 13,796 feet high measured from base to summit, it�s actually 33,476 feet measured from the ocean floor to its summit. Higher than Everest. We set out from the Saddle Road, a bizarre road leftover from World War II that runs east and west between the behemoth Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea volcanoes. This two-lane road, hastily constructed with rough patches around the edges, demands a motor vehicle with good suspension and offers an expansive view of all the solidified lava you could ever hope to see. Near mile marker 28, at about 5:15 p.m., we turned up the summit access road. This journey to the top, where atmospheric pressure is 40 percent less than at sea level, isn�t for everyone. A real estate salesman from the sunny Kona Coast informed me that when he drove to the top, he fell straight to sleep from lack of oxygen. Another man, woozy at the altitude, spent a lot of time lying down. Warning signs at the visitor center say the summit can �create respiratory distress� for children under 16. And that�s not to mention the hair-raising ride to the top. Some parts of the road have a grade of 15 percent. Wayward game animals and cattle have caused multiple motorists to flip their cars. Photos of such accidents are taped to the windows at the Onizuka Visitor Information Station, with warnings like: �Beware of invisible cows!� If you�re looking for guardrails, maybe you should seek something safer � like hang gliding over power lines. But if you�re extremely curious and take the time to acclimate for an hour at the 9,300-foot visitor center, here�s what you bold and daring motorists can experience. Bring a thermos of soup or coffee to sip while you wait. It will help to acclimate you to the altitude. At about 6:30 p.m. on a March evening, I�m standing atop Mauna Kea snuggled in my ski parka and hiking boots, watching the sun sink down over the Kohala Coast. Low-lying clouds have blanketed all coastal areas of the Big Island. Atop the clouds, a narrow band of neon pink and orange wraps around the island like a giant flower lei made by Paul Bunyon. The air is thin. It�s hard to breathe. You feel like you�ve gulped five mai tais, and so you smile a lot. But the sunset is merely a trifle compared to what� to the east. The setting sun has tossed the shadow of Mauna Kea against the clouds. It�s the biggest shadow you�ve ever seen in your life. And what�s that? The full moon is rising, and it�s sitting at the apex of Mauna Kea�s shadow like a big, cosmic punctuation mark. As your brain tries to comprehend the giant dot on top of the giant pyramid, something begins to buzz. You begin searching your parka for bugs. Mauna Kea is, after all, home to four species of insects blown to the summit during the last Ice Age. The Weikiu, a black wingless thing, dines on other hapless insects blown up to the summit. But that�s not what�s making the noise. As the sun sets, the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope whirls into position for stargazing. It is one of nine telescopes atop the summit of Mauna Kea. Off to the left, like a King Kong-sized robot, one of Mauna Kea�s nine summit telescopes is opening up for the evening. The United Kingdom�s InfraRed Telescope whirs gently into position, preparing for a cold, calculating look at hot stars. And then I�m reminded who really owns this view of the night sky atop the highest mountain in the world. The astronomers. Scientists throughout the world recognize Mauna Kea as the best site for optical, infrared and submillimeter observations. Mauna Kea gives the best images because it is so high that the telescopes are above 40 percent of the atmosphere. The air above Mauna Kea is calm after traveling over thousands of miles of ocean. Far from large cities, the night sky is very dark. Extraordinarily da k. As a result, Mauna Kea now hosts the greatest concentration of telescopes in the world, including the Keck telescopes. Three new ones are under construction at the summit. The summit is perfect for astronomy, but it�s no picnic for astronomers. Preparation is paramount. �Astronomers spend at least 24 hours at the 9,500-foot level base camp before going to the summit,� says Hugh Grossman, a guide who provides stargazing tours at the visitor center. �They are restricted to 12 hours at the summit per day.� Aditya Dayal, an astrophysicist at the Jet Propulsion Labs in Pasadena, Calif., uses the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope and the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility to study planetary nebulae, which are the ejected envelopes of medium-sized stars. He spends about 1.5 to 2 weeks annually atop Mauna Kea. To acclimate, he spends two nights at the Hale Pohaku dormitory at 9,500 feet. astrophysicist who works atop Mauna Kea. �I have felt altitude sickness on a few occasions,� Dayal says. �Usually, it�s nothing worse than a dull, persistent headache that happens during the first couple of days at the beginning of each run.� As headaches go, these are relatively expensive. It costs NASA about $10,000 a night to run the IRTF. �My last trip to Mauna Kea was in mid-November 1997,� Dayal says. �Unfortunately, during that run we had terrible weather � high winds, major snowstorm, hail. We got only two or so clear nights out of six. The weather can get pretty nasty very quickly at 13,796 feet.� In winters past, 12-foot blizzards have slammed into the summit, and astronomers have had to be rescued. As the scientists begin their nocturnal duties, faced with the same wretched conditions that daunt the most seasoned mountain climbers, it�s time for us to leave. We put the sport utility vehicle in first gear and slink down the deeply darkening mountain with our parking lights on, guided only by the light of a full moon. Headlights would interfere with the $10,000 stargazing, we�re told. WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU GO Stop at the Onizuka Visitor Information Station for at least half an hour to acclimate, or you might just fall over from dizziness at the top. Onizuka Visitor Information Station. Planning a drive to the top? The Visitors� Information Station is located at an altitude of 9,300 feet. It is open 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday evening, portions of Friday, and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Click for complete hours of operation. Stop here for at least half an hour to acclimate, or you might just fall over from dizziness at the top. Thursday through Sunday nights, the visitors center hosts an evening of star-gazing from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Par icipants view the skies through an 11-inch Celestron telescope (weather permitting). Call (808) 961-2180 for a recorded message. Road access. The access road to Mauna Kea begins at the 28 mile marker of the Saddle Road (across from the hunters� check-in station) and leads north to the summit. The visitor�s center is about one hour from Hilo and Waimea and about 1-1/2 hours from Kailua-Kona. It�s another half hour from the visitor�s center to the summit. For access conditions call (808) 969-3218. What to wear. You�re in the tropics, but Mauna Kea�s summit is at 13,796 feet elevation. Bring warm clothing even for a daytime visit. Save room in your suitcase for a warm coat, hiking boots and a hat. The sun is absolutely fierce here, so bring sunglasses. Also bring SPF-15 or higher sun block for your face, hands, and other areas of the body where skin is exposed. Accommodations. Mauna Kea is in a remote and rugged area. If you�re staying in Hilo, about an hour away from the visitor�s center, a good choice is the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel. It has 285 rooms, a restaurant, lounge and swimming pool. On a sunny day, oceanfront rooms have a view of Coconut Island, Hilo Bay, and Mauna Kea mountain. Rooms are $107 a night. Call (808) 935-9361. If you�re staying on the west side of the Big Island where all the great beaches are, a good choice is the Outrigger Waikoloa Beach (for erly the Royal Waikoloan). This large resort re-opened Oct. 15 after a renovation. It has multiple restaurants and its own protected swimming beach (the emerald-green Anaehoomau Bay). Rates from now until Dec. 18 are $124 for mountain view, $154 for ocean view and $179 for oceanfront. Call (808) 886-6789. Food. Eat before you go, or bring food with you. There are no restaurants nearby. Bring a large thermos of coffee or soup to sip while at the Visitor Center.

Nostalgic Waikiki Rediscovering the historic charms of Honolulu By Byron Ricks A chartered outrigger canoe tour is still a wonderful way to see Oahu. Last winter our family recovered several stacks of films my grandfather had taken during his World War II tenure at Pearl Harbor. In a darkened room we watched the images of an old Hawaii flicker past. And soon afterward, my wife, Maren, and I flew to Oahu to discover what he had seen more than 50 years before�a historic Waikiki Beach and Honolulu often overlooked amid the latest veneers of glass and steel. Day 1: Stepping into history Beneath curtains of rain and brilliant rainbows I set out on an early morning jog in Ala Moana Beach Park. Running past the splendid swimming beach and a rank of outrigger canoes, I first saw the 2-mile sweep of Waikiki and the igneous backdrop that so often appears in my grandfather's films�the peak of Diamond Head. Although the 500 restaurants and hundreds of shops of contemporary Waikiki attract nearly 70,000 visitors each day, from here the beach seemed strangely quiet, shimmering in the early light a it has for centuries. Waikiki Beach's relatively predictable and often mild water conditions make it the perfect place for beginners to get their surfing legs. The Duke Just across the water, Pacific rollers sweep into Duke Kahanamoku Beach, named for the place where the winner of Olympic gold medals in swimming in 1912 and 1920 learned his first strokes and the art of surfing. With his celebrity, Duke brought surfing a worldwide audience, and he made some 30 movies with the stars, including another "duke," John Wayne. Later, Maren and I will visit the thatch-roofed Duke's Canoe Club restaurant that honors the famous Hawaiian. Pearl Harbor We hopped a bus in Waikiki and headed to Pearl Harbor where my grandfather had been a dentist in the Navy. Due to wartime security, he took no films in Pearl Harbor; we have only a letter thanking his dental team, signed Admiral Nimitz. As we stood over the sunken tomb of the USS Arizona, an afternoon squall washed the harbor. The sobering attack of 7 December 1941 is ultimately what brought my grandfather, and now me, to these islands. Yet even here there is life�birds, migrating flocks descending into t e Pearl Harbor National Wildlife Refuge. Historic downtown Honolulu Returning to Waikiki via the Nimitz Highway, we paused in historic downtown Honolulu. Between the tall buildings, an expanse of green opens around the stately Victorian Iolani Palace. Built for King Kalakaua in 1882, the palace holds the thrones of Kalakaua and his successor, Queen Liluokalani, who ruled the Hawaiian kingdom until the overthrow of the monarchy in 1893. Iolani remains the country's only official royal residence. Then, across King Street, in front of the old parliament hall (now the judicial building), I spied a familiar figure from the films: the golden statue of Kamehameha I, the great monarch who united Hawaii in 1795. On King Kamehameha Day (11 June) flowing leis drape the statue's reaching arms. After wandering among the many historic buildings in this area�the State Capitol, State Library, the Kawaiahao Church, and the Mission Houses Museum (where Hawaii's first American missionaries lived in 1821)�we spent the rest of the afternoon lost among the fascinating Polynesian collections at the Bishop Museum. This striking statue of Kamehameha was dedicated in 1883 as part of King David Kalakaua's coronation ceremony. Day 2: Diamond Head and Hanauma Bay A natural Hawaii As eager to explore Honolulu's outskirts as the sailors in Grandfather's films, we toted flippers, snorkels, and masks, and taxied to Hanauma Bay State Underwater Park, following a winding road along the massive slope of Diamond Head. Today a trail from Diamond Head State Park climbs to the top of the 761-foot-high volcanic peak, where stunning views of Waikiki, Honolulu, and the Oahu coastline unfurl. Submerging my face in the shallows of horseshoe-shaped Hanauma Bay, I glimpsed the sparkling world of Hawaii's underwater life. My grandfather had enjoyed deep-sea fishing during his time in the islands, but these remarkable fish�mere blue and silver flashes among the coral�seemed too spectacular to catch, a feeling confirmed in startling clarity during a stop on the way back at the Waikiki Aquarium. Day 3: On the sands of Waikiki We spent the afternoon along Waikiki where, just more than a century ago, the homes of royalty stood surrounded by the tall palms of the Royal Grove. As we walked the sands, I focused on what I had seen in Grandfather's films�the magnificent Royal Hawaiian Hotel and the longboard surfers riding crumbling waves toward the crescent of Waikiki Beach. The Royal Hawaiian The Royal Hawaiian Hotel beckons with its gardens of towering coconut palms that evoke a tranquility these shores knew long ago. The Royal Hawaiian, dubbed "Pink Palace of the Pacific," was built in 1927 when travelers came by ship to spend perhaps months on Waikiki. Graced with high archways and ceilings, marble floors, and glittering chandeliers, the Royal Hawaiian seems to carry the glow of many sunsets. The Moana Surfrider Lured by Hawaiian music, we wandered toward the Banyan Veranda of Waikiki's oldest hotel, the Moana, built in 1901. As the hula performance began, we sat outside beneath the mighty branches of the ancient banyan tree. From 1935 to 1975 the radio show "Hawaii Calls" was broadcast live from this stage, carrying the sounds of Hawaii to listeners all along the West Coast. With ukulele music filling the air, we ordered a spicy satay, drank umbrellaed drinks, and watched the ball of sun sinking into the earth's watery curve. My grandfather's films are filled with these fiery sunsets, their colors as brilliant as Hawaiian flowers. What splendors he wished to share with his family on the homefront, the timeless magnificence of Hawaii! Hand in hand, Maren and I strolled by the yellow-and-red outriggers lined high on the beach, past a thatched roof and burning torchlights. As the sun vanished, we followed the day's last longboarders, their silhouettes now crouched and speeding toward the sands of Waikiki.

Hawaii: Resort offers "safe" dolphin encounter Terry Nagel, Expedia.com Contributor Watch movies from the pool. Speed down a 175-foot water slide. Stroll the mile-long museum hallway, ride the canal boats, and work alongside professional animal trainers. About the only thing families visiting the Hilton Waikoloa Village won't be able to do is get bored. This 62-acre resort on the Kohala Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii was designed with families in mind, making the resort a destination unto itself. The most popular attraction? A program called "Dolphin Quest" where guests swim with dolphins that have been raised in captivity and are well adapted to human encounters. Advance reservations required Getting a slot in the Dolphin Quest program requires some diligence. For children ages 5�19, guests must call exactly two months to the day in advance to qualify for a dolphin encounter. The cost for children is US$85 per person. Adults wishing to participate can sign up on a lottery basis by calling ahead after making a reservation at the resort. Cost for adults is US$115 per person or US$190 per couple. An alternative to the dolphin encounter is the resort's Animal Training Adventure, where participants age 16 and older learn to work with animals such as mice, dogs, and dolphins. Cost is US$185 for 2� hours. Movies, camp, water fun If you can't swing the dolphin encounter, don't worry�there's plenty more to do. On Saturday evenings during the warmer months, for example, guests can watch family movies while cooling off in the hotel's 22,180-square-foot Kona Pool, which has waterfalls, whirlpools, and a giant 175-foot waterslide. The sandy-bottom children's pool also offers views of the big screen. Families into water sports can pay US$15 per day for an amenities packet that includes a US$25 credit toward the rental of kayaks, paddle boats, and snorkeling gear for use in the hotel's 4-acre lagoon, which is stocked with tropical fish and sea turtles. Spa privileges, in-room coffee, and unlimited local phone calls are also included in the amenities packet. Guests age 5�12 can join "Camp Menehune," a year-round program named after mythical Hawaiian "little people." Each day brings a different theme, such as "Volcano Adventure Day," where kids make their own volcanoes, and "Polynesian Pirate Day," which includes a treasure hunt. The camp, which runs daily 9 AM�4 PM, costs US$50 and includes lunch and take-home souvenirs; half-day and family rates are available. Room rates at the Hilton Waikoloa Village start at US$380 per night.

Hawaii for the weekend By Morris Dye Here are four foolproof options for planning a quick and therapeutic escape from the West Coast to Hawaii�without sacrificing more than a day or two of your precious vacation time. In no time at all you can be enjoying a weekend getaway on Waikiki, the Kohala Coast, Kauai, or Maui. Just what the doctor ordered The price of a weekend in the islands can range from only slightly spendy to extravagantly expensive. Unless you're traveling on a frequent flyer ticket, shop around for packages that combine air transportation, accommodations, and rental car. Packages from the West Coast often begin at less than $500 per person. You can shop for Hawaii vacation packages online through the Expedia Travel Network. Additionally, two more package dealers to try are Pleasant Holidays, Tel. 1 (800) 242-9244, and SunTrips, Tel. 1 (800) 786-8747. Packages can be cheaper than booking the various components individually�but it is wise to check fares in the Expedia Travel Agent to be sure you are getting the best deal. Also, since most package deals use charter air service to Hawaii, bear in mind that you won't find the frequent flyer benefits and greater choice of departure times you would with a major carrier. Accommodations vary widely as well, from simple hotels and condos to posh and pricey beach resorts. Use Expedia.com's Hotel Price Matcher to get a quality room in Hawaii at the price you want. Or, use the Hotel Wizard to choose your own hotel from this list of accommodations in Hawaii, or try one of the options suggested below. Whatever your budget and wherever you stay, the blue skies and warm ocean are free to all, so select the style that suits you best, get out your credit card, and smear on the sunsc een. The Waikiki weekend Maybe the crowded strip of high-rises at Waikiki is not your dream vacation hideaway, but if time is short, don't rule out this hopping urban enclave a few minutes away from downtown Honolulu. Thanks to easy airport access and frequent flights linking Honolulu International to the mainland, it's possible to catch a flight from the West Coast on Friday evening, spend two full days at the beach, and be home in time for work on Monday morning. You won't find a square inch of sand to call your own here, but pack a healthy sense for irony next to your teensy-weensy Speedo and you really can have a good time with the Waikiki scene. If you need a break from the glitz, visit Honolulu's excellent Bishop Museum for a quick course in Hawaiian history, or rent a car and strike out in search of mellow beaches and local color in quieter corners of Oahu. Depending on where you stay, a weekend at Waikiki can be the cheapest way to go. Clean and reasonably priced rooms are available at a number of centrally located hotels (check out the Outrigger chain's various Waikiki properties, for example), with rates generally lower the farther you walk from the surf. Hawaiian Airlines, United, American, Continental, Northwest, and Delta all offer nonstop flights from the West Coast, or you can book cheap charter flights (with less flexible schedules) through discount wholesalers. Coddled on the Kohala Coast If your most recent bonus check is burning a hole in your pocket, you might prefer to treat yourself to a few days of serious R&R at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows on the Big Island. The lava flats that slope down to the sea here on the kona, or leeward, side of the island are bathed in sunlight almost every day. The Mauna Lani offers 350 high-end rooms and suites on 29 waterfront acres, plus five notoriously expensive bungalows that come with private swimming pools, hot tubs, and personal butlers. With 36 holes of golf, 10 tennis courts, a health club, three restaurants, and a bar at your disposal, plus beaches, hiking trails, and several archaeological sites on the property, this is the kind of self-contained resort where you can while away a long weekend without ever leaving the grounds. To skip the added time and hassle of transferring to an interisland flight at Honolulu, check out United's nonstop service from Los Angeles or San Francisco to Kailua-Kona. Regular rates at the Mauna Lani range from $325 to $895, but outside of busy holiday periods you should be able to get in for less than the published rate by shopping around for a package deal with airfare. Condos on Kauai For a mellow beach vacation with family or friends, nothing beats a basic condominium rental on Kauai. With only one direct flight from the mainland (from Los Angeles on United) and fewer tourist accommodations than Oahu, Maui, or the Big Island, Kauai is decidedly low-key and rural, but loads of incredibly varied scenery are packed into its small space. If you're starved for sunshine, head for Poipu Beach on the island's arid south coast. You'll find plenty of condos to choose from here, a nice sandy beach, decent snorkeling right offshore, and easy access to scenic drives and hikes at Waimea Canyon (the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific") and Kokee State Park. Some folks prefer the wetter north coast, where frequent rains and fertile volcanic soil nurture a lush jungle landscape. Condos are available at the Princeville resort development, or shop around for vacation rentals in laid-back Hanalei to the west. Wherever you choose to stay, you'll probably want a rental car to get to the island's gorgeous beaches and green spaces. Whichever of Kauai's environments you choose, you'll find the island's tourism has rebounded and most hotels have been rebuilt since Hurricane Iniki cut a devastating swath across the island in 1992. When planning this trip, you'll need to allow for interisland transfers and drive time to and from the airport, so it's best to take two days off and make it a four-day weekend. Hotel or condo packages with rental car and airfare from the West Coast (including interisland flights) start at around $600 for three nights. Colonial comforts on Maui Maui is another good place to book a vacation condo�try one of the well-traveled beach resorts scattered along the island's west coast. An alternative: Head right for the heart of the island's active nightlife with a stay at the Plantation Inn in the historic whaling town of Lahaina. The old harbor area has been noticeably doctored up for tourists (a younger crowd than at the country-clubbish Kaanapali resort just north of town), but the Plantation Inn provides a refined refuge from busy waterfront bars and boutiques, with 19 rooms and suites in a lovely colonial-style building. The interior is decked out with the kind of Victoriana you'd find in a B&B�four-poster beds, floral prints, and hardwood floors�and rates range from $135 to $215 per night. An excellent country French restaurant called Gerard's occupies the main floor of the Plantation Inn, or nearby try David Paul's well-regarded Lahaina Grill, Tel. +1 (808) 667-5117. For a very special occasion, call ahead and make dinner reservations at the Four Seasons Resort, Tel. +1 (808) 874-8000, at Wailea. It's a bit of a drive down the coast, but at the Seasons restaurant here you'll be rewarded with exquisite Pacific-Continental fare created by one of Hawaii's top chefs, George Mavrothalassitis, w o moved to Maui after years of culinary stardom at the Halekulani on Waikiki Beach. United offers the only nonstop service from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Maui's Kahului Airport, about 25 miles from Lahaina. Pleasant Holidays and SunTrips market direct charter flights to Maui with a stop in Honolulu on the return leg.

Hawaii�s vivid pidgin English A quick guide to make you feel less the tourist By Jeff Williams MSNBC Oct. 21 � When the English language lands in Hawaii, takes off its shoes and starts to relax, it becomes pidgin. To the outsider, most of the words sound familiar, but sentences are garnished with words from Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese, Filipino and Hawaiian. Syntax and intonation also borrow from those languages. So, in pidgin it�s not: �The girl is pretty.� It�s: �Pretty, da girl.� And to make it a question, it�s: �Pretty da girl, yeah?� The language continues to evolve, but it maintains an essential Hawaiian flavor: relaxed, irreverent and multicultural. THE LANGUAGE was born in the early 1900s, when sugar-cane planters wanted a simple, clear way to speak with their immigrant workers. Hawaii�s sugar-export economy was booming and planters had turned to Japan, China, the Philippines and other countries for cheap labor. The cane-field workers, who lived side by side in plantation camps, took the language and ran with it. Pidgin English became one of the things that helped immigrants establish a new identity as Americans. As historian Ronald Takaki writes in �A Different Mirror�: �As [immigrants] spoke pidgin English and as they watched their children grow up in the camps and attend American schools, they realized that they had become settlers and that Hawaii had become their home.� The language continues to evolve, but it maintains an essential Hawaiian flavor: relaxed, irreverent and multicultural. It�s not really advisable that you try to speak it if you haven�t grown up there, otherwise someone might tell you, �No act.� But it never hurts to know a bit of local lingo. Here�s a humorous sample of pidgin words and phrases, excerpted from �Pidgin to da Max� by Douglas Simonson: Okole (oh KO leh): What you sit on in Hawaii. This word does not mean "barstool.� Bumbye, Bambai (bum BYE): Soon enough. This is the most exact measurement of time in pidgin. Bolohead: No mo� hair. Howzit (HOW zit): Pidgin for �aloha.� T�anks eh? Pidgin for �mahalo.� Da kine (da KINE): Da kine is the keystone of pidgin. You can use it anywhere, anytime, anyhow. Very convenient. Every time: All the time; always. Haole: He�s always making a fool of himself.� Pidgin: �He go make ass (or "make a") every time.� Hanabata (ha na BAH ta): What you gotta wipe when yo� nose come runny. Small-kid time: Hanabata days. Junks: 1. What girls carry in their purses. 2. What guys carry in their car trunks. Mo� Bettah (mo BEH dah): Better. No act (no AK): Stop showing off. Cool it. Trying: Pidgin for �You�re trying too hard!� Beef: Fight. See also Like beef. (John's note: you don't hear "beef" much anymore. The current word for fight is "scrap." Like Beef? (Like scrap?) Invitation to go outside. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Excerpted from �Pidgin to Da Max,� by Douglas Simonson in collaboration with Ken Sakata and Pat Sasaki. Copyright � 1981 by Douglas L. Johnston. All rights reserved.

Ree, some time ago you asked if I had ever witnessed a volcanic eruption. Yes. Lots and lots of them. Each one is different and more exciting than the last one. I covered some of my experienes in Geo 2 (Vulcanology)...anything specific you'd like to know?

Yes! Lots of specific things! LIKE: The colour. Is it like fire, or is it a different sort of red and yellow and orange? And does it smell of anything? And how hot do you get if you're close enough to see it happen. Or is the heat more confined to the eruption itself? And have you ever seen the lava run like that from the mountain? Once the lava has stopped running, what does it look like then? Are there lots of ashes or does it harden onto things so that you're left with a surreal sort of landscape? And if one should fall into the lava - do you just turn to ashes immediately?

Oh Yes! Love these questions and will try to find good photos which will show the various colors present. Colors of the hotest fluid flows can be blindingly white hot. Then the perimeters cool down to lemon yellow, bright orange, red-orange, red, through to blood red to blackish red until it is cool enough that is stops emitting light energy. Fountains are usually Orange to Red to Dark red in color - I am quoting for night viewing which is the best. Daytime has to contend with the sun so all color va ues are stopped down one cooler shade. I have never, that I recall, seen white hot during the daytime and not lemon yellow, either. Smells - when rain falls on freshly hardened lava it is like no other smell on earth. I think the only other being who did smell it was God after the creation. When it has been around for a few days it begins to emit a smell of dried celery leaves when mist hits the sun-heated rocks. Otherwise it smells hot rocks. The fumeroles which form later are the smelly ones of ill repute. This is because the lava is so hot that all gases are burnt off giving lovely little green, blue and pink flames before they can reach our noses. You can get pretty close to an accessable eruption (one near an established road). In fact you can get within about 6 feet of it before it is so hot it is not bearable. It is like looking into a furnace with the door open - a wall of heat physically holds you back. You can get a lot closer if there is no large molten lava visible and is just viewable in cracks as it moves...Cloce enough to get a glob on your rock hammer.

I have seen lava rivers running downhill - and they really move - some as fast as 40 mph (64.4Kph) down steep slopes - taking trees and large slabs of cooled lava with them as they go. They can flow up and over walls and all other obstacles...and do with great regularity! It is quite exciting. When it cools we have two main types which make up the landscape: A'A which is clinkery and cools as clinkery red or black and has a dense white hot core which cools into fine-grained "graystone" which we use for road gravel and driveways. It is heavy and dense and full of olivines (peridots). Our quarries are mostly that type of lava. The other kind of lava is PaHoeHoe or smooth and flowing lava. Cooled, it is in flat slabs or great size which crack after time of cooling, or is formed into ropes or wh t are called "epephant droppings." Need to post pix of them as soon as I can find them. It form a most surreal landscape like from another planet. When it recently "paved" over a small housing development in Kalapana (where the school bus picture was taken) it seemed like we had taken a wrong turn and entered a time wsrp to another world. No landmarks remain; nothing is familiar. Most unsettling! If you should fall through the thin crust of a pahoehoe flow you will be cut to ribbons since our flows are rich in silica and glass is sharp as razors. If you are unfortunate to fall into a moving river of lava - 2000�F (1093�C) you do not last long. A geologist's foot broke through a crust several years ago and his heavy boots were almost vaporized, his nomex suit was fused and he had severe burns to his leg - fortuantely a fellow geologist visiting from Italy pulled him to safety. The suit and boot are on display at the Jagger Museum on the rim of Kilauea Caldera. The worst damage was to his leg which had to be grafted and all that. Not something I ever wish to experience! It would not tak long for any vestige of you or anyone to turn to vapor. Not even ash is formed at those temperatures! Any more questions???

That is not a minus in front of the 2000�F - it was a dash. That is a positive and very hot temperature!!! Sorry about the typos...I will do better on the follow-up. Promise!

Sounds absolutely thrilling! Thanks for asking the Q Ree. You write so vividly Marcia. I'm longing to see the photos.

So, Ree, don't even think about diving in to hot lava. Don't even think about it!

The heat is so intense that it is like a physical force keeping you from doing anything stupid, but it does not keep you from stepping onto thin crust over a lava tube with molten stuff in it...! Smart geoolgists either take a long stick to tap the crust in front of them to check for sounds of thin crust. Otherwise they stay well back from the areas known to be active. No sacrificing to the goddess, please!